‘I’ve given everything I had to this film’

Anurag Kashyap, who met his idol Quentin Tarantino on his birthday, says he has created a market for his film

Anurag Kashyap is a happy man these days. His film, That Girl In Yellow Boots, was once upon a time supposed to be produced by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Films. But due to reasons he refuses to reveal, he backed out of the deal. And then on, he has put his and all of his friends’ and family’s every single penny into making this film.

“I have not only borrowed money from the whole world, but all that I had has gone into making this film,” says Anurag Kashyap, the film’s director, who is currently in Toronto creating a market for his film. “There were moments when we didn’t have money to work any further. We had to wait for seven months for funds to arrive.”

The director, whose film has been received well at many international film festivals including the Venice Film Festival and Toronto film fest, also got to celebrate his birthday with one of his most favourite role models in Hollywood — Quentin Tarantino. “He was there for the cake cutting (laughs). I am a huge fan of his work. It is Tarantino’s original writing that astounds me. People should learn from him,” says Kashyap, who added that even though Tarantino hasn’t seen the film since he is on the jury, meeting him was an experience. “I think Vishal Bhardwaj is the closest we have to Tarantino in our industry.”

Talking about the varied response from other filmmakers who saw his film, Kashyap says the experience is bitter sweet. “Sometimes director-to-director feedback can be very critical. For instance, for the erotic scenes in the film, I was told, “Why didn’t you push the boundary even more?” and “You were so close, then you hold the camera back.” Kashyap laughs, “Boss, I am making a film for India and I can’t afford to show everything. At the same time, the scene is not vulgar or titillating at all.” The release date of the film, written by Kashyap and Kalki Coechlin, is yet to be decided.